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Apple to Enter Early Trial Production of 2018 iPhone Lineup to Avoid Supply Bottlenecks

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Although the the next flagship iPhone probably won’t be announced until September, Apple could begin trial production of it soon in order to prevent delays.

According to a new report from DigiTimes, Apple wants an early start to avoid the 3D sensor yield rate issues with last year’s model, which pushed back the launch date of the iPhone X.

Apple’s fast-tracking of the trial production will help push ahead the delivery schedules for the 2018 iPhones, explains the report, meaning it should have more plentiful supply available for pre-orders.

DigiTimes‘ source claims that “the trial production will help push ahead the delivery schedules for 2018 iPhone devices so that they will rekindle its smartphone momentum”, noting that sales of the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and iPhone X have all been “lower than expected.”

The sources further suggests that mass production of the new iPhone range might begin early in the third quarter of 2018, which should give Apple plenty of time to build up a supply of units before September.

The iPhone X didn’t arrive in stores until a while after it was announced, with rumors of production delays for 3D sensors and other components causing the wait, so it would make sense for Apple to get a head start this year so that the next iPhone can land in September, shortly after it’s announced.

As Apple is rumored to employ all of its three iPhones in 2018 with FaceID, DigiTimes reports that both upstream and downstream component suppliers are ready to answer Cupertino’s expected demand for Face ID sensors. However, suppliers have not yet seen increased component order just yet.